On Wednesday, spokesmen for the US-led occupation of Afghanistan
outlined findings from an internal military investigation into the
destruction of a large medical center in Kunduz, Afghanistan, carried
out by US forces in October.In contradiction to the claims of
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF) and of numerous
victims and eyewitnesses to the attack, the US military is claiming that
the hospital was targeted out of “human error.” US forces were actually
attempting to attack a supposed Taliban position, located several
hundred meters distance from the MSF center, the US military is
asserting.At the press conference Wednesday, US-NATO Afghanistan
commander General Steve Campbell read a selection of talking points from
the DOD’s internal report. The actual report was not publicly available
as of Wednesday evening, despite rumors that it would be released
Wednesday.In the two months since the October 3 attack, the US
military has already assembled an impressive record of lies and
prevarications on the issue. During the days immediately following the
attack, the DOD repeatedly altered its explanation for the incident,
offering a series of narratives to the effect that the Afghan forces
were partly responsible, the US troops were exhausted from combat,
Taliban were thought to have occupied the compound, etc.

On
Wednesday, General Campbell set forth a version of events that rehashes
these various excuses into a convoluted narrative clearly tailored to
shield the US government and high command from criminal prosecution.

The attack and the cover up happened not when Bully Boy Bush was in the Oval Office but while Barack was president.

Thursday, November 26, 2015. Chaos and violence continue, Ramadi is
still not liberated, the US continues bombing Iraq, UK Prime Minister
David Cameron insists only bombing can keep the UK safe, the Defense
Dept Tweeted what?, and much more.

Thanksgiving was celebrated today in the United States and Canada. The
US government celebrated by dropping bombs on Iraq. The Defense Dept
announced:

Strikes in IraqBomber, fighter, attack, ground attack and remotely piloted
aircraft conducted 23 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support
of Iraq’s government:-- Near Baghdadi, one strike destroyed two ISIL rocket positions.-- Near Albu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.-- Near Kisik, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicles and five ISIL bunkers.-- Near Mosul, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical
units and an ISIL checkpoint and destroyed five ISIL fighting
positions, an ISIL vehicle, and an ISIL building.-- Near Ramadi, seven strikes struck five separate ISIL
tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, two ISIL
vehicles, an ISIL mortar, two ISIL structures, an ISIL boat, an ISIL
front-end loader, cratered an ISIL road, suppressed an ISIL vehicle’s
movement, and denied ISIL access to terrain.-- Near Sinjar, five strikes struck three separate ISIL
tactical units and destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL heavy machine gun,
two ISIL fighting positions, damaged an ISIL vehicle, suppressed an
ISIL heavy machine gun, and wounded an ISIL fighter.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck two ISIL tactical
units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.

Bombings have gone on since August of 2014 and haven't solved a thing.

Back in July, Hope Hodge Seck (MARINE TIMES) reported on Al Taqaddum Air Base and how 400 troops were there. Of course, their presence doesn't really go to the airy training Barack insisted was going on.

So many lies, so many deceptions. This week, the US Embassy in Baghdad announced the following:

On November
22-23, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Iraq to discuss a
range of political, security, and economic issues with government officials.
While in Baghdad, Deputy Secretary Blinken met with Prime Minister Haider
al-Abadi, Speaker of Parliament Salim al-Jabouri, and other senior officials.
During his meetings, Deputy Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the
U.S.-led Coalition’s continued support to Iraq and praised the recent
successes of the Iraqi Security Forces- including the Peshmerga and Popular
Mobilization Forces – in the campaign to degrade and ultimately defeat Da’esh.
Deputy Secretary Blinken also announced $38.7 million in additional
economic assistance to Iraq, which will support government reform initiatives
as well as post-conflict stabilization efforts.
Deputy Secretary of State
Blinken also traveled to Erbil, Iraq, for meetings
with Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, Prime Minister
Nechirvan Barzani, and other senior leaders in the Iraqi Kurdistan
Region. During his visit to Erbil, the Deputy Secretary also met with internally
displaced persons from various parts of Iraq, in both camp and non-camp
locations, underscoring the United States’ ongoing commitment to working
with its international partners, the Government of Iraq, and the Kurdistan
Regional Government to facilitate humanitarian assistance to internally
displaced persons and refugees.‎

It is said that Anthony Blinken visited Iraq last Sunday to discuss a
range of political, security and economic issues with government
officials.
During his stay in Baghdad, he met Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and
Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jubouri and other senior officials.

He also visited Erbil and held meetings with the President of the
Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani
and other senior leaders in the region

Turkey could bring the world to the brink of the next global
conflict, Iraq’s vice President Nuri al-Maliki said in the wake of the
downing of a Russian bomber by Turkish air forces.

"Erdogan's double standards and aggressive policies are threatening a new world war," al-Maliki said in a statement as he criticized the policies of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, AFP reported.The
Iraqi politician, who is a former prime minister of the country, also
accused Turkey’s leader of hypocrisy as he commented on Turkey’s claims
of a short violation of Turkish airspace by the Russian warplane which
was downed by the country’s air forces.

Here's the AFP report and they also refer to thug Nouri as "vice president."

In an effort to implement a series
of political reform Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi decided Sunday
morning to eliminate the post of Vice President and other high-ranking
positions, and reduce the excessive number of official bodyguards.

A statement from Abadi’s office
read that “The posts of Vice President and deputy prime minister would
be eliminated immediately,”

After weeks of protests
demanding better government and a call by leading Shi'ite Muslim cleric
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for tougher action, Abadi proposed
cancelling Iraq's multiple vice president and deputy prime minister
positions, currently shared out along sectarian lines.Iraq
has three vice presidents, two Shi'ites and a Sunni, and three deputy
prime ministers, a Shi'ite, a Sunni and a Kurd. Critics say the set-up
say hands high office to unqualified candidates and encourages
corruption.Mounting public anger
at the state of politics, expressed in protests in Baghdad and several
southern cities, risks hampering Abadi's efforts to rally support for
the fight to push Islamic State militants from territory in the north
and west.One of the vice
presidents, Nuri al-Maliki, who stepped down as prime minister last
August after eight years of what critics said was ethnically divisive
rule, backed the proposal.

Maliki, who belongs to the same party as Abadi and still wields
significant influence, said Saturday evening -- before Abadi outlined
his plan publicly -- that he supported the reform drive.

So Abadi's big reform was sacking the three posts of vice president?

And Nouri al-Maliki agreed with that?

But the three remain vice president -- including Nouri?

Guess that $38 million of US tax dollars -- for support of non-existent reforms -- won't be wasted.

Violence continues, as always. THE JOURNAL OF TURKISH WEEKLY notes, "Twelve people were killed and another 42 injured
late Wednesday in separate attacks in Iraq’s Baghdad, Anbar and Diyala
provinces, according to local police sources."

Tuesday, the US Embassy in Baghdad issued the following statement:

November 24, 2015

The U.S.-led Coalition has consistently
encouraged the Iraqi Security Forces to liberate Ramadi as soon as possible,
and will continue to provide devastating air power in support of Iraqi ground
operations against Da’esh in Ramadi and elsewhere in Iraq. Media reports
suggesting that the Coalition has delayed or placed
conditions on the Ramadi liberation operation are completely inaccurate.
As Coalition military spokesperson Colonel Steve Warren has repeatedly
said, “All the elements are in place to liberate Ramadi.”

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

What Trina said: "Nick Jonas is a little bitch" and I mean it. How dare he whine about being offended and insulted by someone who made a diabetes joke when his 'defense' is that as a Type I he didn't do anything to get diabetes.

What an ignorant fool.

Type II can also have to do with genetics.

But the whole idea of, "Don't make fun of me, make fun of them!"?
What a hypocrite."TV: Netflix scores another hit in Jessica Jones"Jessica is played by Krysten Ritter who survived 'TIL DEATH and excelled
in DON'T TRUST THE B---- IN APARTMENT 23, but still hadn't done
anything to prepare audiences for how great she is in this role.

Everything about JESSICA JONES is impressive.

Rachael Taylor, for example, has floundered in the CHARLIE'S ANGELS TV
reboot, PARK 666 and CRISIS. Trish may be a supporting role but it
offers her far more opportunities than lead roles in the last three did.
Or what about Trish's abusive mother? In what could have been a
one-note role, Rebecca De Mornay is given a chance to shine. Mike
Colter's turn as Luke Cage (also known as Power Man) is so exciting you
can't wait for next year when Luke gets his own Netflix series.

Jessica is a complex character and the show is as well with it's own
unique point of view and a strong and individual look to it which stands
in stark contrast to CBS' SUPERGIRL -- another live action attempt
where all the surrounding characters are more interesting than the dull,
vanilla superhero.

SUPERGIRL has no point of view, has no unique look and a lead character
that's an embarrassing weakling. It's not just that Lynda Carter's
Wonder Woman and Diana Prince were more advanced in the 70s hit WONDER
WOMAN, it's that even Phyllis Coates and Noel Neill alternating as Lois
Lane in THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN had more purpose and strength back in
the 50s.

On the heels of last spring's success with DAREDEVIL, Netflix launches
another first class superhero show. If only CBS and the other broadcast
networks could do the same . . .

I think Ava and C.I. are correct.

While I have yet to check the show out, it was all anyone was talking about on the flight from Hawaii to California.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015. Chaos and violence continue, the US
government announces more bombs dropped on Iraq, one service member who
died in Iraq is identified while another is remembered by those who knew
and loved him, Barack Obama apes John Kerry (not a good thing), and
much more.

Russell Hulstine (News On 6) reports on
a memorial service planned for today to honor Master Sgt Joshua Wheeler
who died in combat last month in Iraq, "The 39-year-old was killed
October 22 when he and dozens of U.S. special
operations troops and Iraqi forces raided a compound near the city of
Kirkuk, freeing approximately 70 Iraqi prisoners." US Senator Jim
Inhofe posted the following to his Facebook page:

Today
at 11AM Eastern, an American hero and Oklahoman will be laid to rest in
Arlington Cemetery. Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler of Roland, Okla., gave
his life in Iraq helping to release 70 individuals that were being held
hostage by ISIS. Senator James Lankford
and I spoke on the Senate floor in remembrance of Wheeler and shared
stories we learned from his friends, family, and fellow soldiers of the
selfless life he led in dedication to his country. I hope you will take a
moment to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkDQYeAQ6GM

"He
was a soldier, but I didn't realize he had all of these
accomplishments, all these achievements - it just blows my mind," said
Zack, the brother of Master Sgt. Wheeler, during the memorial tribute
held in his honor in his hometown in Roland, Oklahoma, according to 5News TV.
The mourning family member added, "He's an American hero. That's just
how Josh was. He just wanted to take care of people. I just hope his
sons know how big of a hero he was."

Master Sgt. Wheeler graduated from Muldrow High
School in 1994. He became part of the US Military in May 1995 when he
entered as an infantryman. Throughout his career, he garnered some
awards for his service to the nation. These included 11 Bronze Stars in
which four had been for valor as well as a Purple Heart, which was given
posthumously.

Joshua Wheeler's memorial tribute comes a day after another US service member who died in Iraq was identified. Fox 5 News reports, "A soldier from Fort Drum in northern New York died on base in Iraq last week, according to the Department of Defense. Pvt.
Christopher J. Castaneda, 19, of Fripp Island, South Carolina, died
November 19, 2015, in a non-combat-related incident at Al Asad Air Base,
the DoD said. He and his unit were in Iraq in support of Operation
Inherent Resolve." The office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the following:

Governor Cuomo directed flags on state government buildings to be flown
at half-staff on Tuesday, November 24, in honor of a Fort Drum Soldier
who died in Iraq on Thursday, November 19.

Pvt. Christopher
Castaneda died in a non-combat related incident at Al Asad Air Base. He
was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, of the 10th
Mountain Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team. He was a resident of Fripp
Island, South Carolina.

"On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend
our deepest sympathy to Pvt. Christopher Castaneda's loved ones,"
Governor Cuomo said. "We are saddened by his loss and join his fellow
soldiers, his family, and his friends in honoring his service to our
nation."

Governor Cuomo has directed that the flags on all State buildings be
lowered to half-staff in honor of and in tribute to New York service
members and those stationed in New York who are killed in action or die
in a combat zone.

While others have dealt with loss, the White House has embraced spin and worse.

Josh Feldman (Mediaite) notes Barack
declared last week, "I cannot think of a more potent recruitment tool
for ISIL than some of the rhetoric that's coming out of here during the
course of this debate."

So Barack is aware of the power of rhetoric?

Would never know by his refusal to curb John Kerry's ugly, vile mouth.

The Islamic State is most likely not overly upset that the US House of
Representatives is currently calling for more safeguards for any
refugees from Syria or even if they decide to bar the refugees.

But they probably do take offense to being called "Da'esh" which is seen as a slur.

Many assume that these fighters are motivated by a belief in the Islamic
State, a caliphate ruled by a caliph with the traditional title Emir al-Muminiin,
“Commander of the faithful,” a role currently held by Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi; that fighters all over the world are flocking to the area
for a chance to fight for this dream. But this just doesn’t hold for the
prisoners we are interviewing. They are woefully ignorant about Islam
and have difficulty answering questions about Sharia law, militant
jihad, and the caliphate. But a detailed, or even superficial, knowledge
of Islam isn’t necessarily relevant to the ideal of fighting for an
Islamic State, as we have seen from the Amazon order of Islam for Dummies by one British fighter bound for ISIS.﻿In fact, Erin Saltman, senior counter-extremism researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, says that there is now less
emphasis on knowledge of Islam in the recruitment phase. “We are seeing
a movement away from strict religious ideological training as a
requirement for recruitment,” she told me. “If we were looking at
foreign fighter recruits to Afghanistan 10 or 20 years ago, there was
intensive religious and theological training attached to recruitment.
Nowadays, we see that recruitment strategy has branched out to a much
broader audience with many different pull factors.”
There is no question that these prisoners I am interviewing are
committed to Islam; it is just their own brand of Islam, only distantly
related to that of the Islamic State. Similarly, Western fighters
traveling to the Islamic State are also deeply committed, but it’s to
their own idea of jihad rather than one based on sound theological
arguments or even evidence from the Qur’an. As Saltman said,
“Recruitment [of ISIS] plays upon desires of adventure, activism,
romance, power, belonging, along with spiritual fulfillment.” That is,
Islam plays a part, but not necessarily in the rigid, Salafi form
demanded by the leadership of the Islamic State.
[. . .]These boys came of age under the disastrous American occupation after
2003, in the chaotic and violent Arab part of Iraq, ruled by the
viciously sectarian Shia government of Nouri al-Maliki. Growing up Sunni
Arab was no fun. A later interviewee described his life growing up
under American occupation: He couldn’t go out, he didn’t have a life,
and he specifically mentioned that he didn’t have girlfriends. An
Islamic State fighter’s biggest resentment was the lack of an
adolescence. Another of the interviewees was displaced at the critical
age of 13, when his family fled to Kirkuk from Diyala province at the
height of Iraq’s sectarian civil war. They are children of the
occupation, many with missing fathers at crucial periods (through jail,
death from execution, or fighting in the insurgency), filled with rage
against America and their own government. They are not fueled by the
idea of an Islamic caliphate without borders; rather, ISIS is the first
group since the crushed Al Qaeda to offer these humiliated and enraged
young men a way to defend their dignity, family, and tribe. This is not
radicalization to the ISIS way of life, but the promise of a way out of
their insecure and undignified lives; the promise of living in pride as
Iraqi Sunni Arabs, which is not just a religious identity but cultural,
tribal, and land-based, too.

Is it hard to grasp reality or have too many just ignored reality for too long?

The Islamic State spreads because of the way Sunnis are persecuted in the region.

The Islamic State spreads and grows because no one will stand up for the Sunnis on the world stage.

Those sympathetic to IS feel Sunnis are being humiliated.

So how the hell is the answer to start using a term that is seen as derogatory to describe a Sunni group?

You want to push those sympathetic to IS even closer to the Islamic State?

Mock the Islamic State.

Let Barack play your basic moron on Comedy Central instead of president,
let him go into the gutter and who do you think wins that battle?

Barack acting like a braying ass will help how?

Barack should be trying to maintain dignity while making calm and
rationale statements against the Islamic State and its actions.

Doing that will allow him a shot at being heard by those who might be attracted to the Islamic State.

Contrast that with his using the d-word and mocking.

At a time when the driving force for IS recruitment is the persecution
and humiliation, in what world is the answer to be seen as bullies
talking trash?

AMYGOODMAN: What drove the ISIS prisoners that you talked to? And describe the setting where you talked to them.LYDIAWILSON:
So, they were prisoners. They had been through due process. They had
been found guilty of terrorism for various vehicle explosions and
assassinations within Kirkuk. And so, I was given access by the police,
and I was interviewing them before they were serving their sentence.And so, they were quiet, to begin with. And when I gave them a chance
to talk and to ask more open-ended questions, it became very clear that
they were fueled by a lot of anger, anger primarily against the
Americans, but also against their government, that they perceived as
Shia, sectarian, and anti-Sunni. They perceived that everybody was
against them, that they weren’t given a chance in their own country. And
many of them were poor. They were very low education rates—one was
illiterate entirely—and big families and often unemployed. So, ISIS
was not only offering them a chance to fight for their Sunni identity,
but they were offering them money. They were being paid to be foot
soldiers. And, I mean, one of them was the eldest of 17 siblings, and
his story was that he hurt his back and couldn’t earn any money as a
laborer, which he had been doing.Now, this money was greatly appreciated by them all, but that’s not
to say it’s only economic need. There was this driving anger against
Americans, against the occupation—but not in terms of this ideology that
we see coming out of the ISIS official
publications or through social media. It was anger—it was much more
personal. It was much more about their own childhoods and adolescences,
that they had been blocked from having a normal life because, as they
saw it, of the American occupation.

Key tribal leaders from Iraq’s Sunni Arab population say U.S.
officials have failed to work with them in the fight against the Islamic
State and assert that Russia is now increasingly eager to fill the void
— even inviting influential sheikhs to visit Moscow and air their
grievances.While the Obama administration admits its push for a
“Sunni Awakening 2.0” to break the Islamic State’s hold on Iraq has gone
more slowly than hoped, the claims made by five separate Sunni tribal
sheikhs in interviews with The Washington Times paint a far bleaker
picture, one in which Washington appears to have bungled a chance to
recreate an approach that worked against the terrorists in the past.

How does this address the perception that no one will stand with the Sunnis?

But the US government -- the White House -- was still determined to stand with Nouri.

(Hawija is over 98% Sunni.)

Time and again, crimes against the Sunnis were ignored and/or tolerated by the US government.

Barack has a lot of work to do to make up for the impression he's already set.

Mocking the Islamic State to the giggles of various Shi'ite thugs will
not help Barack but it will make some Sunnis even more hostile towards
those they see as degrading and attacking the Sunni population.

Strikes in IraqBomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket
artillery conducted 19 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support
of Iraq’s government:-- Near Abu Hayat, one strike struck an ISIL staging area.-- Near Rutbah, one strike struck an ISIL vehicle bomb facility.-- Near Fallujah, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicles and wounded two ISIL fighters.-- Near Habbaniyah, one strike destroyed an ISIL artillery piece.-- Near Kisik, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL fighting position.-- Near Makhmur, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and
destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun and two ISIL fighting positions.-- Near Mosul, one strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position.-- Near Ramadi, five strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical
units and destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle, eight ISIL fighting
positions, an ISIL house bomb, two ISIL recoilless rifles, an ISIL
weapons cache, an ISIL building, and denied ISIL access to terrain.-- Near Sinjar, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and
destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL fighting position, and
suppressed an ISIL mortar position.-- Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Hit, one strike destroyed an ISIL bridge section.

Today, they added:

Strikes
in Iraq

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely
piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 17 strikes in Iraq, coordinated
with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Baghdadi, one strike stuck an
ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL staging area and an ISIL building.

-- Near Fallujah, two strikes struck a
large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb and three ISIL
fighting positions.

-- Near Mosul, two strikes struck an ISIL
tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and suppressed an ISIL
mortar position.

And it's past time Barack devoted significant resources to diplomacy to work out an actual political solution.

Turning to the arts, Friday, Carly Simon's SONGS FROM THE TREES was released -- Kat reviewed it here (she also reviewed Adele's 25)-- and it's the musical companion piece to Carly's memoir BOYS IN THE TREES which went on sale today.

Boys in the Trees

A Memoir

Simon's memoir reveals her remarkable life, beginning with her
storied childhood as the third daughter of Richard L. Simon, the
co-founder of publishing giant Simon & Schuster, her musical debut
as half of The Simon Sisters performing folk songs with her sister Lucy
in Greenwich Village, to a meteoric solo career that would result in 13
top 40 hits, including the #1 song "You're So Vain." She was the first
artist in history to win a Grammy Award, an Academy Award and a Golden
Globe Award, for her song "Let the River Run" from the movie Working Girl.

The
memoir recalls a childhood enriched by music and culture, but also one
shrouded in secrets that would eventually tear her family apart. Simon
brilliantly captures moments of creative inspiration, the sparks of
songs, and the stories behind writing "Anticipation" and "We Have No Secrets" among many others. Romantic entanglements with some of the most
famous men of the day fueled her confessional lyrics, as well as the
unraveling of her storybook marriage to James Taylor.